I know, I know. It' s been forever.
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Chapter 6

Kana let go of him immediately, stunned. "Aki…?"

Aki sunk to the floor, unable to meet her eyes as she stared at him in utter disbelief. It was Aki…He had done this.

"How could you!" She cried, tears threatening to spill over. She clenched her fists. This was too much…

Kana backed up, shaking her head over and over. "No…" Yusuke reached out to place a hand on her shoulder.
"Kana…"
She seemed to snap then. "No!" She pushed past the group and out the door, leaving the Rekai Tantei alone with Aki.

Kana ran blindly, her vision blurred by her tears. Aki killed their father. He really did…It was all so real.
So Aki was the one Yusuke and the others were looking for…the wolf demon. Why hadn't he told her? Didn't he trust her? Was he lying to her all this time?

A clap of thunder sounded and it started to rain. She still ran, not knowing where she was going, not really caring.

Rain pounded all around her, yet she did not feel a thing. Her hair became wet and her clothes soaked clean through, her teeth chattered, but she didn't even realize it.

All this time…

Tears mingled with the rain as she still ran, away, away…from everything.

I never knew…

It all made sense. Why dad seemed to hate Aki so much…so many years ago, that one night when she witnessed—

She stopped running and stood still, shaking. Why can't she feel the rain? Lightning illuminated everything around her for just a moment, and she jolted.
I want to escape.

She started running again, until the views around her became more familiar, as she headed into the park she fell asleep in that one time when she left school.

Why can't I feel anything?

She sat down onto the bench, inhaling deeply, staring into the little pond that sat before her and started crying all over again. She drew her knees up to her chest and sobbed with the rain.

"So…explain this." Hiei said coldly.
"You're the spirit detectives, aren't you? He told me you would come…" Aki said his voice low and solemn. "It's all my fault. I should have tried to stop him, to keep him from emerging…" He covered his face with his hands. "I didn't want her to know…I wanted to keep this from her, so she would be protected. Safe."

"You mean Kana?" Kuwabara asked.
Aki nodded. "But he didn't want to be kept inside. He tried so hard to come out so many times, and so many times I've managed to keep him locked inside…until now." He sighed, running a hand through his hair. He was utterly distraught, his face showing his sadness and confusion easily. Kurama watched him, as if looking for something, then turned to the door, looking back at the group, his bright emerald eyes solemn.

"Look, just come with us." Yusuke said, watching Aki steadily. He looked up at him, and he nodded slowly.

"Sure. Just…" He stiffened, then looked away, as if focused on something else entirely. They watched him, confused.

"No." Aki's head swiveled back to them; eyes wide, his mouth open a little in shock. Before their very eyes, his features melted, his yellow eyes replaced with amethyst ones, his hair shortened and blackened…the wolf demon had taken over. He got up, holding out a pale skeletal hand to keep them from coming closer. He took the body of Kana's father, his hauntingly beautiful face contorting into a horrid mask of horror. "I will never come to you!" He shouted, and disappeared into the night.

"Dammit!" Hiei yelled, slamming his fist into the wall. "He got away!" His red eyes flashed with anger.

"Koenma's gonna kill us…" Yusuke moaned.

"There's nothing more we can do here, then…" Kuwabara said, looking around the place. He winced at the mess in the room, the papers and broken glass strewn everywhere, the spatters of blood on the floor and the walls. The man had fought, but he didn't win.

"Jesus, when did it start raining?" Yusuke said, peeking out the open door. He cursed under his breath. "We're gonna get soaked!"

Kuwabara looked at Yusuke, a small grin on his face. "Well then, you'd better start running, Urameshi." With a little wave, he took off at a run out the door into the rain, but somehow managed to slip and fall on the driveway. He got up quickly, cursing to himself, and Yusuke started laughing, but it wasn't the same laugh. It was hollow, strained. Obviously the events today had bothered him. It bothered everyone.

"You're all fools," Hiei said, and, with that, took off, dashing home, becoming nothing but a black blur shooting from tree to tree.

Kurama stood in the doorway, watching Yusuke and Kuwabara get into another fight, becoming increasingly soaked, and then it hit him.

Kana.

Where did she run off to, anyways?

Looking around, he spotted a navy umbrella sitting by a coat rack and took it, opening it before he ran outside into the rain.

How long she sat there, crying, Kana had no idea.
Everything was falling apart and she had no control over it.

She hated this feeling.

Kana rubbed her eyes, sniffling. She had no tears left. It was just her, and the pounding rain, and that was just fine with her.

She was numb all over, but she was shivering. Kana didn't seem to notice this as she closed her eyes and winced, seeing that demon's face morph into Aki's in her mind.

He's dead. My father is dead.

Kana inhaled deeply, trying to relax herself, but unable to.

This isn't fair…

Kurama suddenly stopped at a corner. Where was he going, anyways?
Where would she go? He wondered, thinking hard to himself. He didn't know her all that well, but she was new here, and…

The park.

He ran to the park, thinking fast. She had to be there, right?

The umbrella served as little shelter from the torrent of rain and wind that came down all around him as he ran down the sidewalk, his shoes becoming soaked through from all the puddles he managed to get in.

His breathing slowed as he reached the entrance to the park, remembering that little bench she fell asleep on that one time he found her. Could she be there?

No longer running, Kurama walked through the winding paths that led to the rose bushes. It was completely empty, the park. Of course it was.

Here it is.

Through the rain he could see a figure on the bench, huddled over. It was her. It had to be.

He approached slowly, his breath halting as he came upon her.

She was soaking wet, her head bent down, her arms wrapped around her knees. Her shoulders were shaking; she was crying. His eyes softened and he let the umbrella cover her, feeling his hair get soaked within seconds. He let a hand rest on her shoulder.

"Kana," he said softly. She stopped shaking and looked up slowly, surprised. Her eyes were rimmed with red, the tears that had fallen left tracks on her cheeks. She looked so sad…

"Kurama…" she breathed.

He smiled and sat down on the bench next to her, making sure the umbrella still hovered over her head. "You're soaked…"

Kana tried to manage a smile. "I barely noticed…" Her eyes welled up again, and she bit her lip. "Kurama…he's dead. I hated him, but…why am I crying?" She turned away, wiping at her eyes.

"It's all right to cry." Kurama said, his grip tightening on the umbrella's handle. Kana's eyes welled up, and she brushed away at them quickly. He wrapped his arms around her, the umbrella clattering onto the wet sidewalk. She clung to him, breathing in deeply to calm her crying as she closed her eyes.

"Thank you," she whispered, and was silent.

Kurama looked down and saw that she had fallen asleep. He smiled and, slowly gathering her up in his arms, walked home.

Kana opened her eyes, her head feeling fuzzy. She rubbed her eyes and looked around. Where was she? And…what the hell was she wearing? She looked down at the flowered nightgown she wore. Kana wrinkled her nose and looked around her, realizing she wasn't her apartment…What was going on!

Kana screamed and fell off the bed.

The door opened, and, to her surprise, it was Kurama.

"You're awake. I heard screaming…are you all right?" He shot her a quizzical look, watching her rub her head awkwardly.

"Yeah…I think…" She clicked two and two together. "Why am I in your house?" She tried to remember what happened yesterday, and then it all came flooding back to her. She sobered and looked to the floor. "Oh."

"Yeah. You sort of passed out yesterday at the park, so I brought you to my house. My mother was the one who changed your clothes, and you're not in my bed, so don't give me that weird look. You were totally drenched and shivering." Kurama explained.

"Thank you for that. And I'm sorry to impose on you…" She got up. "This is kinda awkward…What time is it?"

Kurama flicked his green eyes to his watch. "About noon."

She nodded. "Ah."

"Yeah, you were asleep for a while." He smiled and nodded to a pile of clothes on the dresser. "There are your clothes from yesterday. My mother washed them. If you want, change and come downstairs. Lunch is ready."

"Sure." Kana smiled and watched as Kurama shut the door behind him, then grabbed the clothes and quickly changed into them, heading downstairs.

She saw Kurama and an older-looking woman with black hair and kind eyes. She looked over at the stairs and smiled, seeing Kana there.

"Oh, hello. You're up." She said, and Kurama stepped forward.

"Kana, this is my mother." He said.

Kana smiled. "Hello."

"I'm Shiori. Are you sure you're feeling okay now? You looked absolutely ghastly last night…" Shiori said, looking over Kana worriedly.

"Oh…Don't worry. I'm fine." She said, feeling a little awkward. She wasn't used to having someone worry over her like this. "Thank you, though. For everything. I mean, you didn't even know me and--"

Shiori shook her head. "I don't mind. You're a friend of Shuuichi's." Kana wrinkled her nose and looked at Kurama. Shuuichi? Kurama shook his head, as if to say 'not now'.

Suddenly Shiori motioned to the plates on the table. "If you're feeling hungry there's food on the table for you two. I'm afraid I have somewhere to go now, just to run a few errands." She looked over at Kana, smiling. "It was very nice meeting you. It's always nice to see a friend of Shuuichi's once in a while…" She grabbed a jacket and her purse and slipped her shoes on. "Take care, all right?"

Kana waved. "I will."

Shiori shut the door and Kana wheeled on Kurama. "Shuuichi?"

Kurama's gaze shifted. "…Yeah. Kurama is just a nickname."

Kana said nothing, but raised her eyebrows. She shook her head and went over to the table, beginning to bite into a sandwich.

As they ate, Kana thought over everything that had happened last night. She looked at Kurama and blushed. Had they really embraced like that?

"What?" Kurama asked, and Kana realized that she had been staring.

She shook her head. "It's nothing." She went back to her sandwich, but didn't eat it. "Hey, Kurama?"

He looked at her questioningly. "Yes?"

"Thanks."

Chapter 6: end

O
I wrote this song while listening to a lot of sad Gackt songs, so...hopefully that explains a lot of the angsty-sad emotions in this chapter.

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